- The Senators have already lost Lassi Thomson and Jacob Larsson to overseas contracts and a third blueliner might be joining them as Postmedia’s Bruce Garrioch reports that Dillon Heatherington is examining his international options. The 29-year-old played in a dozen games with Ottawa between 2021-22 and 2022-23 but didn’t see any NHL action this season. Instead, Heatherington skated in 60 games with AHL Belleville and was briefly loaned out to play for Canada at the Spengler Cup back in December.
Senators Rumors
Senators UFA Jacob Larsson Signs In Switzerland
Rather than see what a trip through unrestricted free agency in July would yield, defenseman Jacob Larsson has opted to head overseas. The Senators’ depth defender has signed a two-year contract with Rapperswil-Jona in Switzerland, per a team announcement.
The 27-year-old was a first-round pick by Anaheim back in 2015, going 25th overall but hasn’t been able to carve out a full-time NHL role just yet. He spent five years in their system, getting into 165 NHL games during that span. However, in 2022, the Ducks elected not to tender a $1.3MM qualifying offer with arbitration rights, making Larsson an unrestricted free agent.
Unable to secure a one-way deal on the open market, Larsson accepted a one-year, two-way deal with Ottawa that summer. While he got into seven games with the Sens, he spent the bulk of that year with AHL Belleville. This season, he only saw game action in the minors despite a pair of recalls in the first half of the season. With Belleville, Larsson played in 61 games, notching a career-best 33 points while adding five assists in seven playoff contests.
Considering the year he had in the minors, Larsson likely would have had strong interest on the open market from teams looking to make him a key defender in the AHL while being a serviceable recall if necessary. However, he instead will try his hand different where he’s likely to play a big role for the Lakers for the next two years. A good showing there could get him back on the NHL radar in 2026 if he decides to try his hand at playing in North America again.
Mike Yeo Interviewed For Assistant Coach Job
- After parting ways with Vancouver yesterday, veteran coach Mike Yeo might not be out of a job for long. Postmedia’s Bruce Garrioch reports that the Senators have interviewed Yeo for an assistant’s job on Travis Green’s bench while suggesting that he could be on the Maple Leafs’ radar as well having worked with Craig Berube before. Yeo spent the last couple of years in that role with Vancouver and also has head coaching experience with Minnesota, St. Louis, and Philadelphia.
Ottawa Senators Not Shopping Brady Tkachuk
For the Tkachuk family, things could not be more different between the brother duo in the National Hockey League. Matthew Tkachuk, a member of the Florida Panthers, is competing for his second appearance in the Stanley Cup Final in as many seasons, while his brother Brady Tkachuk of the Ottawa Senators is once again enjoying a long offseason; a reality familiar to him for the last six seasons.
Even though the Senators have failed to make the playoffs since the 2016-17 season, they still have a flare for the dramatics. Less than one month into the 2023-24 NHL season, Ottawa fired then-General Manager Pierre Dorion, leading to a complete overhaul of the front office. With that change coming to an organization intent on contending in the next couple of seasons, many pundits wondered whether or not the Senators would look to re-engage in their rebuilding efforts.
One name that has begun to surface in the rumor mill lately is the aforementioned Tkachuk brother, Brady. Tkachuk, who has served as the team’s captain for the last three years, has been one of the league’s best competitors since his rookie campaign. Over the last three seasons as the team’s captain, Tkachuk has accrued 102 goals and 224 points in 242 games while throwing a whopping 806 hits against opposing teams.
Nevertheless, do not expect Ottawa to move their captain this offseason, as General Manager Steve Staios recently shut down those rumors while speaking to Pierre LeBrun of The Athletic (Subscription Article). In the article from LeBrun, Staios was asked about the rumors and bluntly said, “Complete B.S. We are building this team around Brady. His leadership and unique skill set are rare. There is absolutely no validity to it“.
Things could certainly change over the offseason, especially if Ottawa is approached with an offer they cannot refuse. However, judging by Staios’ remarks to LeBrun, it does not appear that any team will be able to reach a hypothetical asking price for Tkachuk.
Senators May Pursue Ullmark Again
Chris Johnston reported on his show today that former NHLer Marc Savard could be headed to the Toronto Maple Leafs to join their coaching staff just a few days after mutually agreeing to part ways with the Calgary Flames. Savard returned to the NHL this past year as an assistant coach with Calgary but previously worked with Toronto’s new head coach Craig Berube in St. Louis during the 2019-20 season. After his run with the Blues, Savard spent two seasons as the head coach of the Windsor Spitfires of the Ontario Hockey League guiding the team to an 88-35-8-4 record during that time (.695 winning percentage).
The 46-year-old ran the Flames power play this past season, which was seventh worst in the NHL. However, when Savard ran the Blues power play under Berube, St. Louis had the third-best power play in the NHL at 24.3%.
In other Atlantic Division notes:
- Postmedia’s Bruce Garrioch is reporting that the Ottawa Senators are likely to pursue Boston Bruins netminder Linus Ullmark prior to the NHL entry draft next month. The Bruins have received some of the best goaltending in the league over the last two seasons and are in a predicament as they want to sign Jeremy Swayman to a long-term deal but will have Ullmark’s $5MM on their salary cap for one more season. The Senators were reportedly among the teams that tried to acquire Ullmark prior to the NHL trade deadline but were unable to complete a deal. Ottawa received some of the worst goaltending in the NHL last season despite inking free agent Joonas Korpisalo to a five-year $20MM deal last summer. The goaltender position has been a revolving door for the Senators since veteran Craig Anderson left town as a free agent back in 2020.
- Pierre LeBrun of The Athletic is reporting that it seems likelier than not that Detroit Red Wings forward Patrick Kane will go to free agency on July 1st, but he believes that Kane’s agent Pat Brisson will talk to the Red Wings in the next couple of weeks. Kane took a one-year deal for $2.75MM this past season and will be looking for more term on his next contract after posting solid numbers coming off hip resurfacing surgery. Kane dressed in 50 games for Detroit this season, tallying 20 goals and 27 assists while averaging a career-low in ice time at just 18:23 per game.
Senators Add Rob DiMaio To Hockey Operations Department
The Senators have hired Rob DiMaio as their director of player personnel and director of professional scouting, per a team announcement Tuesday.
DiMaio, 56, spent the last two seasons with the Ducks as an assistant general manager and GM of their AHL affiliate, the San Diego Gulls. He left the organization last week for personal reasons, now returning to his home north of the border.
Before his brief stint in Southern California, DiMaio served in various front-office roles with the Blues from 2008 to 2022. After beginning as a pro scout, he was promoted to St. Louis’ director of professional scouting in 2012 and later their director of player personnel in 2015.
In conjunction with GM Doug Armstrong, DiMaio’s decision-making and scouting helped the Blues assemble the roster that won them their first Stanley Cup in franchise history in 2019. That was also DiMaio’s first championship after going without a Cup during his 17-year, 894-game playing career with the Bruins, Flyers, Hurricanes, Lightning, Islanders, Rangers and Stars.
DiMaio will now report to Senators GM and president of hockey operations Steve Staios. Ottawa has not had a dedicated director of professional scouting since longtime executive Jim Clark, who remains with the team in a pro scouting role but stepped down from the directorship after the 2021-22 season.
Senators Notes: Pinto, Goaltending, Zub
The Senators and Shane Pinto were trying to work out a new contract before the center suited up for the United States at the Worlds, reports Postmedia’s Bruce Garrioch. However, there seems to be a sizable gap in negotiations. Garrioch adds that both sides are interested in working out a longer-term agreement (five or six years) but there’s a big gap in the money. Pinto’s camp is reportedly seeking around $5MM per season on a deal like that while Ottawa is coming in considerably lower.
The 23-year-old missed the first half of the season after being suspended for violating the league’s gambling policy which resulted in him accepting a contract for the pro-rated league minimum of $775K upon his return. Pinto wound up being productive for the Sens down the stretch, notching nine goals and 18 assists while logging over 18 minutes a night, solid second-line numbers. Pinto isn’t yet arbitration-eligible so it’s possible that these talks could drag out as they did a year ago before the suspension came down.
More on Ottawa from Garrioch:
- The Senators shopped goaltender Joonas Korpisalo at the trade deadline but unsurprisingly, there wasn’t any interest. It was a rough first year in Ottawa for the 30-year-old who posted a 3.27 GAA and a .890 SV% in 55 games, hardly the return they were hoping for after giving him a five-year, $20MM contract back in July. Considering how the season went, a trade seems unlikely without them either retaining money or adding a sweetener so it might be easier for them to move the final year and $2.75MM of Anton Forsberg’s contract.
- Garrioch added that Ottawa kicked the tires on acquiring Linus Ullmark from the Bruins at the trade deadline. It’s widely believed that Boston will ultimately move Ullmark over the summer so it wouldn’t be surprising to see the teams rekindle discussions on that front in the coming weeks. Ullmark has one year left on his contract which carries a $5MM price tag and had a 2.57 GAA with a .915 SV% in 40 games this season after taking home the Vezina Trophy in 2022-23.
- Defenseman Artem Zub is believed to be a possible trade target this summer according to Garrioch. The 28-year-old has been a steady presence in their top four in recent years and is coming off a career-best 25 points in 69 games. Signed at a $4.6MM price tag through 2026-27, he’d make sense as a trade target for several teams if GM Steve Staios opts to shake up his back end without moving his top pieces.
NHL-Affiliated Prospects Playing In 2024 Memorial Cup
The field for the 2024 Memorial Cup, the top club tournament in junior hockey, is set. The QMJHL’s Drummondville Voltigeurs, the OHL’s London Knights and the WHL’s Moose Jaw Warriors all swept their respective league championship series within the last two days to advance to the CHL championship tournament, joining the host Saginaw Spirit of the OHL.
This year marks the first Memorial Cup held in the United States since 1998, which was hosted by the WHL’s Spokane Chiefs. The Spirit will attempt to become the first U.S.-based team to win since the Chiefs in 2008, and they have a strong chance. They’re stronger than a typical host team, finishing second in the league in the regular season with a 50-16-2 record and trailing London by just two points. They were eliminated by London in six games in the Western Conference Final.
The Knights lead the way with 10 NHL-affiliated prospects on their roster, including two first-round picks in Flyers defenseman Oliver Bonk and Maple Leafs forward Easton Cowan. The latter was named the OHL playoffs MVP after leading the Knights in scoring with 10 goals, 24 assists and 34 points in just 18 games. He had 15 points in four games in their championship sweep over the Oshawa Generals.
If you’re looking for some non-Stanley Cup Playoff hockey to watch, check to see if your favorite NHL team has prospects suiting up in the tournament, which begins May 24:
Drummondville Voltigeurs (QMJHL champion)
D Mikaël Diotte (Devils, free agent signing)
RW Ethan Gauthier (Lightning, 2023, 37th overall)
RW Alexis Gendron (Flyers, 2022, 220th overall)
D Vsevolod Komarov (Sabres, 2022, 134th overall)
NHL Utah 2022 first-round pick D Maveric Lamoureux is out for the season after undergoing shoulder surgery in March.
London Knights (OHL champion)
C Denver Barkey (Flyers, 2023, 95th overall)
D Oliver Bonk (Flyers, 2023, 22nd overall)
C Easton Cowan (Maple Leafs, 2023, 28th overall)
D Jackson Edward (Bruins, 2022, 200th overall)
D Isaiah George (Islanders, 2022, 98th overall)
RW Kasper Halttunen (Sharks, 2023, 36th overall)
C Jacob Julien (Jets, 2023, 146th overall)
C Kaleb Lawrence (Kings, 2022, 215th overall)
C Max McCue (Blue Jackets, free agent signing)
C Landon Sim (Blues, 2022, 184th overall)
Moose Jaw Warriors (WHL champion)
RW Jagger Firkus (Kraken, 2022, 35th overall)
D Denton Mateychuk (Blue Jackets, 2022, 12th overall)
D Kalem Parker (Wild, 2023, 181st overall)
D Vojtech Port (Ducks, 2023, 161st overall)
LW Martin Rysavy (Blue Jackets, 2021, 197th overall)
C Matthew Savoie (Sabres, 2022, 9th overall)
C Brayden Yager (Penguins, 2023, 14th overall)
Saginaw Spirit (host)
C Owen Beck (Canadiens, 2022, 33rd overall)
LW Josh Bloom (Canucks, acquired from Sabres in 2023 trade for Riley Stillman)
D Rodwin Dionicio (Ducks, 2023, 129th overall)
D Jorian Donovan (Senators, 2022, 136th overall)
C Hunter Haight (Wild, 2022, 47th overall)
C Ethan Hay (Lightning, 2023, 211th overall)
G Nolan Lalonde (Blue Jackets, free agent signing)
C Matyas Sapovaliv (Golden Knights, 2022, 48th overall)
C Joseph Willis (Predators, 2023, 111th overall)
Lassi Thomson Signs Two-Year Deal With SHL’s Malmö Redhawks
As expected, Senators right-shot defenseman Lassi Thomson is heading overseas next season. He’s signed a two-year deal with the Malmö Redhawks of the Swedish Hockey League, keeping him in Europe through 2025-26.
Still only 23, Thomson spent his fourth straight season primarily suiting up for AHL Belleville in 2023-24. After earning call-ups in the prior two seasons, the 2019 first-round pick failed to do so this year and made all of his 67 appearances in the minors, recording six goals, 21 points and a -14 rating.
Ottawa briefly lost the rights to their pending restricted free agent during training camp when they waived him for assignment to Belleville. The Ducks claimed him off the wire on October 1, but after failing to make their opening night roster, he was waived again a week later and reclaimed by Ottawa, who opted to assign him directly to the B-Sens.
In 18 NHL appearances over the prior two seasons, Thomson didn’t make much of an impression with the Sens. He posted five assists, a -10 rating, and had 19 shots on goal while averaging 16:32 per game. The mobile two-way defender put up decent shot attempt numbers at even strength, posting a 51.3 CF% in advantageous usage, but struggled to control shot quality with a 46.4 xGF%, per Hockey Reference.
After a solid but not particularly impressive campaign with Belleville this season, it’s unlikely Thomson would have been under consideration for an NHL roster spot next season had he re-signed in Ottawa. The Senators, looking to end a seven-year playoff drought, won’t have many places open for unproven talent.
The Sens can retain Thomson’s NHL rights by issuing him a qualifying offer before the June 30 deadline. If he opts to come back to North America before the 2028-29 season, it would need to be with Ottawa unless they trade his signing rights. Since he’d be 27 years old on July 1, 2028, his signing rights would then lapse, making him an unrestricted free agent.
Offseason Checklist: Ottawa Senators
The offseason has arrived for three-quarters of the NHL for teams that either missed the playoffs or were eliminated in the first round. Accordingly, it’s now time to examine what they will need to accomplish over the coming months. Next up is a look at Ottawa.
Expectations were high for the Senators heading into the season. While they moved Alex DeBrincat, they brought in Vladimir Tarasenko to help cover DeBrincat’s production. They’d have a full season of Jakob Chychrun this time around and they hoped that Joonas Korpisalo would stabilize things between the pipes. Not much went according to plan, however, resulting in both GM and coaching changes. Steve Staios recently checked one big item off their to-do list with Travis Green being named as their new head coach but there is still plenty to work on in the coming months.
Add Defensive Help
On paper, the Senators have a solid top four on the back end but that hasn’t translated to much success on the defensive side of things. The last time they finished better than 20th in goals allowed was back in 2016-17; they were 26th in that regard this season. Part of that is goaltending – which has its own section coming up – but defensive structure has been a consistent issue for them. That was part of the reason Jacques Martin was brought in as the interim coach down the stretch, to help bring in some more defensive fundamentals.
When it comes to their back end, Ottawa has some openings for upgrades. Erik Brannstrom isn’t a guarantee to be tendered a $2MM qualifying offer with arbitration eligibility while Travis Hamonic is more of a seventh option at most at this point of his career. Jacob Bernard-Docker is still developing and could become a reliable defender at some point but his spot isn’t entirely secure either.
One complicating factor Staios might encounter is Chychrun’s situation. He’s entering the final year of his contract, one that pays a team-friendly $4.6MM. It’s going to cost considerably more than that to re-sign him, however, and Chychrun didn’t exactly give off the impression that he’s eager to sign a long-term extension this summer. If that is indeed the case, Staios might have to look at the possibility of moving him which won’t exactly help the state of their blueline.
There’s some reason for optimism when it comes to Ottawa’s back end. A return to health for Thomas Chabot should help things while continued improvement from Jake Sanderson is also likely. But even if they keep Chychrun, more help is needed. And if they don’t keep him, they’re probably going to need to try to dip into the free agent waters to try to replace him.
Re-Sign Pinto
It was a strange year for Shane Pinto. After being unable to come to terms on a new contract, he wound up being suspended for the first half of the season for violating the NHL’s sports wagering rules. The Sens then rescinded all previous offers and in the end, he had to settle for the pro-rated league minimum upon being cleared to return, an amount that was lower than his qualifying offer last summer.
To his credit, Pinto didn’t show any signs of rust upon his return in January. Instead, he became an impact player right away and recorded nine goals and 18 assists (a career-high) in the final 41 games while seeing his ice time jump to over 18 minutes a night.
Now, Pinto finds himself in exactly the same situation as he did a year ago. He’s a restricted free agent and still doesn’t have salary arbitration rights. He also didn’t truly get the chance to prove that his 20-goal, 35-point showing wasn’t an outlier as while he impressed in the final three months of the year, it’s still only a half-season sample size.
Have the Sens seen enough to commit a long-term agreement to him? If they’re trying to buy extra years of club control, that should push the AAV past at least the $5MM mark, possibly even past the $6MM threshold on a max-term deal. He’s 140 games into his NHL career, however, with just 70 points to his name. Suffice it to say, going that approach comes with some risk, albeit with a higher reward if he’s able to establish himself as a full-time top-six middleman.
With Ottawa’s cap situation and the fact they have other needs to fill, the safer route might be the one they ultimately take which would be a bridge deal. Pinto is still four years away from UFA eligibility so they could work out a two-year agreement in the $3MM-plus range, giving him an opportunity to demonstrate that he can maintain that level of production over a full season and giving Staios a chance to address some other needs in the coming months.
Look For Goalie Upgrade
On top of looking for help on the back end, Staios should also be looking for an upgrade between the pipes. This has been somewhat of an annual exercise in recent years as former GM Pierre Dorion tried several different options, none of which have panned out as well as they hoped for.
Last summer, they brought in Korpisalo on a five-year, $20MM contract. Both the term and price point seemed particularly high for someone who had to take a greater than 50% pay cut the year before. Having said that, there was a bit of an upside play with the contract if he could have maintained his level of performance from 2022-23. He didn’t. Instead, Korpisalo’s numbers were worse than his career averages, resulting in some very inconsistent play from their starter. With four years left on that deal, it’s hard to see there being much of a trade market for him.
Anton Forsberg, who they thought could be part of their longer-term plans after a breakout year in 2021-22, has also struggled the last couple of years. He doesn’t have much trade value either but he’s at least on an expiring contract so his spot is the one they can try to upgrade on.
Yes, Mads Sogaard is waiting in the wings (and needs a new deal this summer) but he has another year of waiver exemption left so they can keep him stashed at AHL Belleville getting as much playing time as possible. He’s undoubtedly part of the longer-term plans but for 2025-26 and beyond.
That’s a small window for Staios to work with as they’ll either be looking for a one-year deal in free agency or trying to trade for one on an expiring contract, using Forsberg’s $2.75MM as an offset. They’re probably not getting a legitimate starter in this scenario but someone with a track record of even consistently average goaltending would help to shore up a long-standing weakness and would go a long way toward trying to get them back into the playoff picture.
Consider Core Shakeup
On paper, the Senators have a pretty strong core of now-young veterans who were supposed to represent the anchor points of their rebuild and help move them past it. Despite that, it hasn’t exactly led to much offensive success. The last time the Sens were in the top half of the NHL in goals scored was back in 2015-16 when none of their current players were in the fold.
At first glance, there’s reason to believe that there is room for internal growth and they’ll be banking on Green helping make that happen. But should they run it back with the same core group and hope that Green taking over and the team ideally staying healthier – particularly Josh Norris – will be enough of a difference to get them into the postseason?
There are cases to be made both for and against doing that. This team should be better than it has been based on the talent it has assembled. It’s certainly plausible that one day, things will come together. And if it does, they’ll have some key pieces on market-value (or below market-value) deals for multiple years to come. That’s a good spot to be in.
On the other hand, at some point, running the same core group out there and simply hoping things will work out better this time around has its risks. It also doesn’t generally have the greatest track record of success. And this is Dorion’s core group so it stands to reason that Staios might want to put his own stamp on the team.
Fortunately for him, if he does want to shake up the core, the majority of their core pieces are on deals that already are or should be team-friendly at some point. The exception would be Norris due to injuries but if he can stay healthy, that can still change. That will give him options as most of the core players would have several suitors, positioning them to receive a significant return. Would a move like that help or at least be worth trying? That’s what Staios and his management team will need to decide in the coming weeks.
Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.